Donatello is interested in reading...

Kill the Beast
Serra Swift
Post from the Warrior Princess Assassin forum
Donatello TBR'd a book

Lonesome Dove (Lonesome Dove, #1)
Larry McMurtry
Donatello commented on a post
Is he supposed to be seen from the reader's perspective as a "good" leader?
Because so far, he's been characterized on page as nothing but a petty volatile emotional incompetent tyrant
I'm not talking about what we're TOLD by the narrator I'm talking about how he's actually acted and behaved on page
I'm only 30% into the book though so maybe he'll be challenged on his behavior either by the narrative or a character
Also as an aside, a lot of this book feels like the author is spoon feeding me things like certain characterizations or motivations, etc. Does anyone else feel this way?
Post from the Warrior Princess Assassin forum
I love how protective Jory is of Asher but I want to shake her and tell her to SHUT UP
Girl you need to learn how to properly advocate for your friend! That means learning when and where and how to speak to the right people so that you can actually help rather than make a scene and possibly make things worse not just for Asher but your whole kingdom. Learn how to wield your silence as well as your voice.
You as a young woman cannot play the same game as men in certain scenarios when major players will not even allow you to step onto the board. You know some of the rules already, you know the men won't let you speak or listen to you at least not in public. So do your advocacy in private with the one person who you know MIGHT still listen to you and has the power to do something about it
Post from the Warrior Princess Assassin forum
Post from the The Swan's Daughter forum
Post from the The Swan's Daughter forum
The nosy vine spirit is so funny
Seriously this book is just the absolute distillation of imaginative fairytale nonsense in the very best of ways
Yes there's little to no logic to be found but that's the point. You really just need to ride with whatever magic the story throws at you and engage with the creativity of the world and more importantly the relationships and motivations of the characters.
THIS is a genre of fantasy that I've been missing since I was a little kid. Absolute balls to the walls imagination with no regard for logic. No I don't care about the magic system. No I don't care about the logic behind the worldbuilding. The book makes it clear upfront that it's gonna just be working on the logic of "this is how things are and you'll get no other explanation other than because I said so" and I love that so much
Donatello entered a giveaway...
Donatello entered a giveaway...
Donatello is interested in reading...

Guardian: Zhen Hun (Novel) Vol. 1
Priest Priest
Donatello is interested in reading...

The Snow Child
Eowyn Ivey
Post from the Warrior Princess Assassin forum
How is this guy supposedly an assassin but somehow has "velvet soft skin" on his hands???
Dude has to have at least a few calluses from training
Donatello started reading...

Warrior Princess Assassin
Brigid Kemmerer
Donatello is interested in reading...

Life Among the Piutes: Their Wrongs And Claims
Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins
Donatello is interested in reading...

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Patrick Süskind
Donatello is interested in reading...

No One Is Talking About This
Patricia Lockwood
Donatello left a rating...
This was my first Emily Henry novel and it will probably be the last, not because it was super poorly written or anything but because I know from the romance aspect of this book alone that I will likely not care for her other stuff.
Margaret's story is frankly what kept me reading. Alice and Hayden aren't bad characters they're just written in a way that comes across as very heteronormative and frankly bland. I want to emphasize that this is not because both of are straight but because of the way they're written to approach sex and what specifically Alice finds attractive about Hayden.
I didn't have any issues with the sex scenes themselves but I was a bit bamboozled about how they both were in agreement that they "were not sleeping together" even though they'd already had sex at least twice at that point. I genuinely could not tell whether this was meant to be a joke or if they genuinely classified what they were doing as not really having sex because it was all oral stuff. It's not a book destroying detail or anything but something about the perspective of "real" sex being solely penetrative is both nonsensical and something that I take a bit of personal offense to even though it's very clear that the author is not intending for that message to be preached to the reader.
Donatello finished a book

Great Big Beautiful Life
Emily Henry